State ex rel. Simpson v. Vill. of Alice

Decision Date04 November 1910
Citation112 Minn. 330,127 N.W. 1118
PartiesSTATE ex rel. SIMPSON, Atty. Gen., v. VILLAGE OF ALICE et al.
CourtMinnesota Supreme Court

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Quo warranto by the State, on the relation of George T. Simpson, Attorney General, against the Village of Alice and others. Demurrer overruled.

Syllabus by the Court

The final test whether territory adjacent to platted lands may be incorporated with it as a village, pursuant to Rev. Laws Supp. 1909, s 700, is whether they have such a natural connection and the people residing thereon have such a community of interest that the whole may be properly subjected to village government. So tested, the allegations of the answer are not so clearly insufficient as to justify a judgment of ouster upon a demurrer thereto. George T. Simpson and Washburn, Bailey & Mitchell, for relator.

Samuel C. Scott and Victor L. Power, for respondents.

START, C. J.

Quo warranto proceedings to test the incorporation of the village of Alice, which claims to be a municipal corporation by virtue of Rev. Laws Supp. 1909, §§ 700-704. The statute in form was complied with, and if the facts were sufficient to bring the case within the statute the village is a de jure municipality of the state. The respondents made answer to the petition, to which the relator interposed a general demurrer.

The question for our decision is whether the facts admitted by the demurrer were such as authorized the incorporation of the village by a compliance with the forms of the statute, the material provisions of which are these: ‘Any district, section or parts of section not in any incorporated village, * * * which has been platted into lots and blocks, also the adjacent lands thereto, * * * containing a resident population of not more than three thousand nor less than two hundred may become incorporated as a village in the manner hereinafter prescribed, but the unplatted part of such territory must adjoin the platted portion and be so conditioned as properly to be subjected to village government.’

The creation of municipal corporations is solely a matter for the Legislature, which it cannot delegate to the courts; but it has provided by a general statute the conditions upon which any specified territory may be incorporated, if a majority of the electors residing thereon so determine by a majority vote. When the illegality of the incorporation of any territory under the statute is challenged in the courts, the only question which can be considered is whether the facts bring the case within the conditions. No inflexible rule can be laid down by which the question can be answered; for each case must depend, to some extent at least, on its own particular facts. Neither the extent of the adjacent territory nor its relative value to the platted territory is one of the conditions found in the statute; but the unplatted part of the territory ‘must adjoin and be so conditioned as properly to be subjected to village government.’ Whether the adjacent territory may be properly subjected to village government is not to be determined by the pecuniary interests of the owners thereof; but their land cannot arbitrarily be brought into the village simply for the purpose of increasing its revenues by taxing it. The adjacent lands must be so near to the center of the platted lands as to be somewhat suburban in their character. The final test is whether the platted territory and the adjacent territory are so limited in area and have such a natural connection, and the people residing thereon have such a community of interest, that the whole may be properly subjected to village government. State v. Minnetonka Village, 57 Minn. 526, 59 N. W. 972,25 L. R. A. 755;State v. Village of Fridley Park, 61 Minn. 146, 63 N. W. 613;State v. Village of Holloway, 90 Minn. 271, 96 N. W. 40;State v. Village of Gilbert, 107 Minn. 364, 120 N. W. 528.

These cases, in all of which the incorporation was held void, illustrate the practical application of the rules stated. The here relevant facts in the first one were briefly these: The territory claimed to have been incorporated consisted of 30 square miles of land, within which there were some 17 tracts which had been platted, but were separated by farms or uncultivated lands. Many of the platted tracts were entirely vacant and uninhabited, and on the others there were not inhabitants sufficient to constitute a village in the ordinary sense of the term. The territory involved in the second case was from 5 to 6 miles in length, and from 1 to 3 miles in width, and included more than 15 square miles of land, within which there were over 30 different tracts platted into lots and blocks. Many of these platted tracts were separated by intervening farming land. On two sections of the land there were no buildings, and the number on the other sections ranged from 3 to 12. The territory sought to be incorporated in the next case was 5 miles long and from 1 to 2 miles in width, and contained nearly 6 sections of land, only 40 acres of which was platted, on which only 100 inhabitants resided. The rest of the territory consisted of farms, occupied by resident...

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37 cases
  • State ex rel. Danielson v. Village of Mound
    • United States
    • Minnesota Supreme Court
    • July 20, 1951
    ...(3 ed.) § 619.37 See, State ex rel. v. Minnetonka Village, 57 Minn. 526, 59 N.W. 972, 25 L.R.A. 755; State ex rel. Simpson v. Village of Alice, 112 Minn. 330, 127 N.W. 1118; State ex rel. Hilton v. Village of Buhl, 150 Minn. 203, 184 N.W. 850; State ex rel. Hilton v. City of Nashwauk, 151 M......
  • Consolidation of School Districts in Freeborn County, In re
    • United States
    • Minnesota Supreme Court
    • January 6, 1956
    ...as arbitrary and unreasonable. State ex rel. Simpson v. Village of Dover, 113 Minn. 452, 130 N.W. 74, 539; State ex rel. Simpson v. Village of Alice, 112 Minn. 330, 127 N.W. 1118.' This rule, we think, is in harmony with the great weight of authority. The discretion vested in the county boa......
  • State ex rel. Hilton v. City of Nashwauk, 22681.
    • United States
    • Minnesota Supreme Court
    • July 21, 1922
    ...having no natural connection with the village, and no adaptability to village purposes, should be included.' In State v. Village of Alice, 112 Minn. 330, 127 N. W. 1118, Chief Justice Start, citing the Minnetonka Case, stated the test of urban character as follows: ‘Whether the adjacent ter......
  • State v. Village of Leetonia, 32423.
    • United States
    • Minnesota Supreme Court
    • June 13, 1941
    ...have such a community of interest, that the whole may be properly subjected to village government." State ex rel. Simpson v. Village of Alice, 112 Minn. 330, 332, 127 N.W. 1118. Basically, whether the particular incorporation involved measures up to this statutory test is one of fact for th......
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